Correspondence

CORRESPONDENCE

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Correspondents . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications . All Letters must bear the name and address of the Writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith .

FREEMASONRY AND ITS APPLICABILITY TO THE WANTS OF THE OUTER WORLD .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —No donbt many of yonr readers have , with myself , duly weighed the suggestion contained in a letter published in tho last number of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE as to the establishment of a Dispensary , as an adjunct to the Masonic Charities . Such a suggestion was evidently prompted by the most

landable motives , and in expressing a lew thoughts ou the subject , I desiro to givo your correspondent fall credit for the exercise of that most valuable priDciplo of charitable relief which forms so important a feature of tho Masonic faith . But I am reminded that although our Masonic Charity should know no bounds , save that of prudence , yet I am of opinion , aud it is

au opinion shared by many with whom I havo conversed upon this matter that this is a point whore prudence steps in . I have had some little experienco in tho working of hospitals and dispensaries , and I shall be borne out by tho experienco of others similarly situated when I assert that working men , as a rule , art ) too fond of running off to a dispensary when overtaken by any trifling ailment .

There are plenty of respectable medical men who wonld bo willing to make up a bottle of medicine ( and to givo advice to any poor man requiring it ) , sufficient to last two days , say for one shilling . And in a majority of cases theso simple and occasional illnesses , if taken in time by a skilful practitioner , are speedily and effectually cured . In cases wheu tho illness is of a persistent nature , and likely to last

for any time , the proper place for snch patient wonld undoubtedly bo tbe hospital ; and thither snch an invalid would as a matter of course be sent by tho medical man to whom tho case had been at first submitted . Employers of labour well know that if a man leaves his work , if only for au hour , it upsets him for the remainder of the day ; and that

it thus costs him two or three shillings at least for such interval , putting it on the low ground of loss of time , and consequently of wages , alone . Dispensaries are established with the view of their becoming ultimately self-supporting , and to do away with tho system of pauperisation which is unfortunately too prevalent amongst tho working-classes of the present day . Supposing such an

institution were started , and a competent medicid man consented to receive patients , say from seven till ten o ' clock in the evening , snch a practitioner , assisted by a dispenser , and clerk to jot down his instructions , could dispose of thirty or forty patients per hour . When we consider that thero are hundreds of medical men who , whilst ridingabout in their conveyances , and straining every effort

to keep up the " appearances" due to their position ; find it extremely difficult to make both ends meet , would it not be better to secure the services of such men , who would gladly work at a reasonable remuneration , to attend to these dispensaries and do such work as your correspondent describes ? It is well known to every ono of us that medical men give their

honorary services to hospitals with a view of obtaining practice and medical instruction , which is part and parcel of their education . It would be a great boon to many such to have the opportunity of gaining that experience at home , and in such manner as would prodnce a much needed addition to their slender incomes . Besides , is it fair to expect a doctor or a surgeon to givo advice gratis ?

Would any man in legal difficulty apply in like fashion to a lawyer ? It is a well-known axiom that advice not paid for is valueless ; at all events it is bnt little appreciated . And so in the case of medical aid . Medicine not paid for is too frequently thrown away ; and medical advice obtained without payment is similarly disregarded . The experience of a medical man brings him into daily contact with

the very worst forms of misery and destitution . How often does he find it absolutely necessary that his patient shonld bo supplied with stimulants , such as beef-tea , wine , & c . ? The unfortunate family has been improvident perhaps ; at all events there has been no laying by for the " rainy day " that was nnforeseen , and there is no money in the house even for the common necessaries of life ,

much less for beef-tea and wine . Yet it is imperative that such shall be forthcoming , nnd what does the doctor do ? Why , in many cases that have come under my knowledge , he pnts his hand in his pocket and provides them himself . It is this practice of silent charity—the right hand not knowing what the left does—that forms so noble a trait in the character of very many medical

practitioners , and which , to Freoma = ons especially , mnst commend itself as the most brilliant example that any man could emulate . In my opinion , this hospital system is a mistake ; at least so far as the indiscriminate administration of medicine is concerned . It fonns one of the greatest sources of waste and misuse of public charity , of which tuch complaints are frequently made in tho public

prints . In cases of severe illness , when it is found imperative that a man shall lay up , the hcsiital is the placo ; but when . 1 man only requires out-dcor relief , ho is , in a majority of instances , iu a position to pay for it , —at a modciate rate . There is that difference between temporary and confirmed illness . In the former case a man will often leave his work to " attend

the hospital . " It costs him two or three hours as a rule , and not unfreqnently he adds to the cost of his voluntary idleness a sixpence or so more by a vi ^ it to tho pnblic-hoiise on his way to and from the hospital . If , on the other hand , the visit to the doctor could be postponed till after working hours , tho case would bo equally well met , without any loss whatever , What medical man is there who , when

Correspondence

interested in a case , ever loses sight of it till the result is known ? If stimulants are required , the exercise of silent charity , of which I have spoken , comes into play . If beyond his skill , or likely to last long , the hospital is decided on , and what better or more effectual passport to a hospital than the recommendation of a medical man . To prove what I havo said respecting tho littlo value set upon

medical attendance supplied gratis , can it be shown that tho working classes contribute in anything like a proportionate degree to the already existing hospitals , which are kept going for thoir especial behoof ? Wo all of us remember tho efforts put forth by Bro . Dr Jabez Hogg to establish an Eyo Hospital and to make it self-supporting . Wo know too that after thirty years of self-sacrificing

interest audeuergy , aspriucipal surgeon of tho Ophthalmic Infirmary at Westminster , he never received such a reward as a vote of thauks from those whom his efforts chiefly benefitted . It is proved beyond question that tho free receipt of medicino and aid by those who can afford to pay a reasonable sum for it is demoralising , as it is unappreciated . It fosters a species of mendicancy which should be discountenanced

instead of being further enconraged . The working classes are , as a rule , better off than the middle classes , who receive little benefit , if any , from the hospitals of our land , but who very often contribute to the funds of such institutions , directly or indirectly . With a view of stimulating a spivit of independence amongst tho working classes , I would restrict the system of gratuitous medicino

and advice ; this would not only prevent an unnecessary expenditure of money benevolently subscribed , but it would destroy tho pauperising influences which indiscriminate charity always engenders , and it would pnt into tbo pockets of many a struggling , conscientious , but yet impecunious medical man , the money that is now squandered , and which is so sadly needed to keep himself and family in a position which the practice of tho medical profession should secure .

I romain , Dear Sir and Brother , Yours fraternally , M . M .

" WHICH IS CORRECT ?"

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —AS an Irish Mason , on a short visit to London , I have been glad of an opportunity to compare working notes by attending some of tho Lodges of Instruction mentioned in your journal , and must confess myself fairly puzzled by some things

I have heard aud seen . In one Lodge tho Preceptor repeatedly addressed us as " Brethering , " which I snppose is Masonic English for Brethren ; the S . W ., in the first ceromouy , was good enough to strongly " cvliaust" tbe initiate upon tho nature of tho badge ( in

Ireland wo say " exhort" ) : whilst the W . M ., in the third degree , described ono of tho signs as being that of "joy and exaZtation , " the Irish for the latter word being exultation . We try to bo as accurate as possiblo . May I hope for an opinion in the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE as to " Which is correct ?" Fraternally yours , PADDY FKOM COKIC .

An Odd Fish In The Lodge.

AN ODD FISH IN THE LODGE .

FKOM THE " MASONIC EEVIEW . " fPHE standing joke in the Last Debt Lodge , No . 90 , ever since -1- Brother Koclielle was initiated therein , had been tho oddities of that quaint and eccentric individual . Being excessively homely , Bro . Kochelle was , of course , made Tyler at the very next election after his " Eaising ; " and he has been kept , by unanimous suffrage , in that honourable but frigid post ever since ; honourable " because

tending to make all men honourable" who faithfully perform its mul . tifarious and onerous duties ; frigid , because , as all the world knows , there is no stove in the T yler ' s room of Last Debt Lodgo , and in winter , when the thermometer is taken with a lowness of spirits that registers down to 18 below zero , it requires all the good naturo of Bro . Eochelle to keep himself from frcc / . ing to death . Twice he

has been brought iuto the Lodgo room in a state of suspended animation , aud was only restored to lifo by a spoonful of " Bourbon , " cautiously administered , thirty doses per minute , by Bro . Dr . Thnrstie , who providentially happens to havo a vial full ( a quart vial ) of that substance in his coat pocket whenever needed .

Fourteen times he , Bro . Itochellc , has declared " ho will not servo another year unless tho Lodgo pnts a stove into his department , " and fourteen times he has deliberately perjured himself by consenting to a re-election . His position in summer does very well—but in winter—don ' t mention it .

I visited that Lodge in the month of February 185 (> , aud while I was waiting outside ( so that the Lodge might practice upon the " private grand honours , " ) I got chilblains on my left heul , which annoy me to this day . Tyler ' s rooms are naturally cold places , but the Tyler ' s room of Last Debt Lodgo is a corner apartment , third story , and such a refrigerator that ico remains congealed iu the

water bucket , it is said , all the year round . Bro . Laurence Kochelle is by several degree the homeliest Tyler I ever saw . And this is saying a great deal . Ethnologists , who study professional peculiarities , never venture npon staking a Masonic Tvlcr , as a Sliecimen of hnmanitv . tn illnstrai . n nit . hr-r nf the

grand divisions of Shem , Ham , or Japhetu . I once presented a bust of a Tyler to Fowler aud Wells , tho Broadway phrenologists , and they honestly acknowledged that thoy could not set it up among their other busts , " as no one would believe it to bo a natural specimen , " so , by my leave , they gave it to Barnum , who placed it among the